Huang faces probe over wiretapping

By Chen Ching-min
and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Sun, Sep 29, 2013 - Page 3

In addition to mounting calls from across party lines for his resignation over the controversial handling of an alleged improper lobbying case involving Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Special Investigation Division (SID) Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) is facing investigations by the Prosecutors’ Evaluation Committee at the Ministry of Justice and the Control Yuan.

Judicial Reform Foundation Executive Director Lin Feng-jeng (林峰正) said on Friday that the foundation has requested that the committee look into Huang’s alleged abuse of power to put surveillance on telephone calls.

The committee was established in January last year in accordance with the Judges’ Act (法官法) as a disciplinary mechanism to conduct on administrative evaluation of prosecutors.

If the probe is approved, Huang would be the first prosecutor-general to be investigated.

The committee is composed of three prosecutors, a judge, three attorneys and four impartial parties from the academic community or civil sector.

The way Huang handled the alleged improper lobbying case violated related rules about wiretapping, parameters of the SID’s authority, investigation confidentiality and public disclosure of wiretap transcripts, Lin said.

According to the act, a prosecutor could receive a reprimand or be dismissed, the severest form of punishment.

The JRF also requested that the committee look into roles of High Prosecutors’ Office Head prosecutors Chen Shou-huang (陳守煌) and Lin Shiow-tao (林秀濤) in the case of improper lobbying, Lin said.

If the SID’s findings in the alleged case of improper lobbying were accurate, then Lin had been instructed by Chen not to pursue a case, which was an obvious violation of the unification of prosecution as detailed under the Judge’s Act.

Meanwhile, Control Yuan member Hung Te-hsuan (洪德旋) said he has initiated an investigation into the case and his motion was approved by the Control Yuan.

The Control Yuan received complaints made by the foundation and former deputy minister of justice Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) that the government watchdog should determine administrative responsibility of Huang and the SID over the case.